TerraChoice recently released a new report, The Sins of Greenwashing: Home and Family Edition, and published some interesting findings. The company found that big-box retailers stock more "green" products and products with legitimate environmental claims than smaller boutique-style stores. TerraChoice also found that over 95% of consumer products with a "green" claim are committing at least one "sin" of greenwashing.

Interior Design just closed voting on this year’s BoY Awards, and the Eco Products category has some excellent entries. Of which, I noticed this 3D tile called Buzziskin from Buzzispace. It’s made of ecofelt, or a 100% recycled PET material, in a variety of colors. Buzziskin is offered in both rectangular and cubic sizes with a self-adhesive backing. Each tile runs about $150.

This summer, KB Home unveiled a prototype home in Lancaster, California, outfitted with solar panels, energy storage, LED lighting, and an electric vehicle outlet, among other technologies. The prototype also included a roof tile called Auranox by MonierLifetile. The claim to fame with this roof tile is that it's a smog-eater — that it neutralizes nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the air.

Swisstrax, a company out of California, makes an interlocking recycled content floor tile called Ecotrax. Made with PolyDyne Engineered Rubber Powder, or recycled rubber tires, Ecotrax — according to the company — is durable, strong, and 100% recycled. Also, to close the loop, Swisstrax takes its products back to be recycled into future products. It's available in gray colors, various patterns, and two sizes, 13” x 13” x ½” and 15.75” x 15.75” x ¾”.

Public Architecture, the firm behind Scrap House, just published a free primer on the topic of material reuse. The Design for Reuse Primer, funded by the USGBC, includes 15 case studies of all sorts of projects — civic, education, residential, office, retail, interpretive, religious — calculated to show that "material reuse represents one of most creative, exciting, and effective approaches to building green."

I’ve always loved recycled paper countertops and recently noticed ShetkaStone from All Paper Recycling. SketkaStone is made with old paper and can be used in countertops, vanities, sills, and moldings. It will also hold up to use; the manufacturer told me in an email that no other similar product on the market “can match our durability.”